Bevvy, the whisky app founded in 2021 and based on Islay, closed a $1.5 million seed funding round, the company announced. The new investment comes, principally, from Scotland-based angel investors, existing shareholders and a Denver (US) based family office.

“Having already established the leading position in the digital whisky space, this new capital allows us to cement our market share and grow our consumer audience into new territories,” Co-founder & Head of Whisky Laurie Black said. “We’re hugely excited to be heading Stateside in 2024.”

Founded by Black, mathematician Atanas Tonchev and medtech entrepreneur Lucas Heron, Bevvy is a technology-led whisky discovery platform that operates via consumer-facing Android and Apple (iOS) phone mobile applications. Users can use the app and the camera on their mobile phone to scan the label of any whisky bottle and uncover tasting notes alongside indicative valuations for their collection.

At its heart is a proprietary image capturing software, supported by a database of whiskies, numbering over 200,000, catalogued from the past 120 years of releases. The database includes 150,000 images and tracks retail and auction pricing whilst also monitoring market sentiment in order to arrive at a dynamic, live valuation which it shares with its 120,000, regular active users.

Once a bottle is scanned, the whisky is profiled with content populated by distillery and bottler overviews, dynamic pricing data and expert tasting notes. Whiskies are routinely rated by consumers within the app, which allows the tech to become familiar with each user’s taste preferences, which in turn allows Bevvy to recommend other bottles that a user might enjoy.

“In one of the most challenging fundraising environments I can recall, Bevvy’s successful raise underlines its dominant and growing position as a critical tool among whisky consumers and collectors,” Finance Director Greg Gormley said. “The interest and demand in whisky is growing at a pace not seen before.

“However, the market is fragmented and disjointed, with an absence of easy-to-access tools and information. There is a considerable hole in the market for a value-add, information-led app that allows a bottle of whisky to be fully understood, in terms of taste, history and pricing. Bevvy is addressing this need and is finding its audience is both engaged and growing at a phenomenal pace.”

Over the past 12 months, Bevvy has begun to integrate whisky bar and pub data, whereby bar operators can scan the bottles they have available and publish a live menu. Whisky auctioneers too are finding Bevvy to be a critical resource in dealing with providing prospective consignors indicative valuations for their whisky portfolio, should they choose to offer their bottles for sale at auction.

Meanwhile, distilleries are engaging with Bevvy, which has 11 whisky release ballots already penned in for 2024. (A whisky ballot is a mechanism whereby consumers that wish to purchase a bottle from a new, limited release of whisky, enter into a draw to have the right to buy a bottle).

More recently, the company has begun to grow its presence in the US and its database work to expand its catalogue of Bourbon bottles is well under way. Part of its investment from US investors was predicated on a commitment to be live and active in the US market by the middle of 2024.

“This is an extraordinarily exciting time for us, we see thousands of bottle scans each and every week, we are gaining a fascinating insight into user taste preferences, price trends and industry strengths and weaknesses,” Black said. “Bevvy finds itself at the heart of a major shift in how consumers and collectors engage with this multi billion dollar market.”

For more information, visit https://bevvy.com/.